Dry mouth, medically termed xerostomia, affects up to 20% of the population. It is a condition where the saliva in the mouth is at a deficit. Most people have experienced dry mouth at some point either due to stress, or anxiety. Prolonged symptoms of dry mouth could be due to an underlying medical disease, such as diabetes, or doe to the usage of certain medications. Symptoms include a perceived feeling of stickiness or dryness in the oral cavity, trouble chewing, swallowing, or tasting of food. Dry mouth symptoms could also include cracked lips, dry tongue, mouth sores or oral infections.
Saliva plays an important function in the oral cavity. It has an essential role in protecting, and lubricating the oral mucosa. The lubricating properties of saliva provide comfort and help protect the oral tissues against ulcers, sores, and other effects of friction. Saliva neutralizes acids and provides antibodies against bacterial threat. Saliva also aids in the digestion of food and the remineralization of enamel. Saliva is also a critical contributor to a person's ability to taste, as it acts as a solvent for the taste stimuli. Decreased salivation could lead to many oral problems, such as tooth decay, and oral infections.
Treatment for dry mouth most often includes products that are saliva substitutes or incite saliva stimulation. Saliva substitutes are used to replace the mucoadhesive, lubricative, and protective function of saliva. They commonly consist of biopolymers or polysaccharides to try to replicate the viscoelastic properties of saliva and most often result in the delivery of a very thick formulation perceived by the consumer.
Coconut oil, a natural vegetable oil, is used in many personal care applications as a skin moisturizer. It shares many properties that a lubricant should have such as 1) high viscosity index 2) good lubricity 3) high flash point and 4) low evaporative loss. Vegetable oils in general are considered good boundary lubricants in that they give rise to very low coefficient of friction. Though coconut oil is more stable than other vegetable oils, it is not as widely used as a lubricant because of its congelation temperature; i.e., because it is a solid at room temperature.
There exists a need for consumer friendly dry mouth products that, can lubricate and moisturize the oral cavity providing relief and comfort to the oral mucosa.